HIGH-LEVEL US DELEGATION DISCUSSES DEMOCRACY AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000152

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PHUM PINR EAID MR
SUBJECT: HIGH-LEVEL US DELEGATION DISCUSSES DEMOCRACY AND
COUNTERTERRORISM -- DELEGATION'S MEETINGS WITH POLITICAL
PARTIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY

Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

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(C) Key Points, with Comment
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-- This cable covers the meetings the high-level delegation
led by AF PDAS Pittman had with political party, civil
society, religious, and press representatives during a busy
three-day visit to Mauritania February 7-9. (Please see
septel for the delegation's meetings with government
officials.)

-- Political party leaders told the delegation that the
government and electoral commission have not sufficiently
included them in the election planning process. The party
leaders want a regular forum for consultations with the
government. (However, they rejected a recent government
request that the parties establish a 9-10 member group to
represent all 32 parties in consultations with the government
on the electoral process.)

-- The leaders denounced Mauritanian civil society as little
more than "institutions created to receive international aid"
(which is largely true here),adding that "political action
is the monopoly of political parties, not independents or
civil society" (which is an opinion far from universally
shared here).

-- Later, UN System Coordinator Cecile Molinier told the
delegation over dinner that "the Mauritanian authorities have
taken every step necessary to leave power at the end of the
transition process," an assessment that, on the whole, the
Embassy shares.

-- The UN, which is currently training census workers on how
to properly conduct the census, has run into several
problems, including antiquated maps...and tight timelines, UN
reps told the delegation.

-- Mauritania's public and private press associations say
they are enjoying greater press freedom following the coup.
The Embassy agrees.

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(C) Comments
--------------

-- The proper conduct of the census and the subsequent
creation of a new voter list are key to Mauritania's
successful transition to democracy.

-- All later actions, every referendum and election, hinge on
an accurate voter list. The UN is right to focus intensely
on the census and voter list. They are crucial.

-- And the Mauritanians have already stumbled out of the
gate. They had to postpone the start date for the census by
two weeks because the transitional government and electoral
commission weren't ready. Sticking to the timeline is
already proving difficult.

End Key Points and Comments.


1. (U) During a three-day visit to Mauritania February 7-9,
an eight-member interagency delegation headed by AF PDAS
Bobby Pittman and including members from S/CT, DRL, AF, NSC,
OSD and USAID met with political party and civil society
representatives to assess Mauritania's transition to
democracy.

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POLITICAL PARTIES WANT A SEAT AT THE TABLE
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2. (C) The delegation met with Mauritania's 31 recognized
political parties over two days to discuss parties' roles and
concerns regarding elections. Parties continued to voice
suspicion about the US role in the IMF's decision to forego
Mauritanian debt relief and expressed anger towards the

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decision to remove Mauritania from the African Growth and
Opportunity Act. "The US has made problems against
Mauritania," Social Democratic Union President Isselmou Ould
Hanefi said, asking "is this action against the Mauritanian
government or the Mauritanian people?" Despite Pittman's
repeated efforts to explain that the IMF decision was based
on failures in transparency and performance and was not a
political decision stemming from the coup, widespread
suspicion remained.


3. (C) Political party leaders strongly believed that the
government and electoral commission needed to establish a
regular forum for consultations with the parties during the
run-up to elections. "The government met with us when they
were selecting the electoral commission members, but the
commission did not consult with us when they were selecting
their regional representatives," SAWAB President Cheik Ould
Sidi Ould Hanena said, adding that "there is essentially no
relationship between the political parties and the electoral
commission." National Union for Democracy and Development
President Koita Tidjane added "we deplore the government's --
and commission's -- practice of not communicating with us or
involving us in their discussions." "Without a regular
process of consultations with political parties, nothing will
be to our satisfaction," Union for Democracy and Progress
President Naha Mint Mouknass said.


4. (C) In a passionate response to DRL DAS Krilla's question
about cooperation between political parties and civil
society, Popular Progressive Alliance President Messaoud Ould
Boulkheir said "civil society should be non-political...and
when we see it trying to be political that is wrong and we
will fight against it and destroy it." Boulkheir's sentiment
was shared by many other party representatives who added that
"political action is the monopoly of political parties, not
independents or civil society," and "he who wants to be
engaged in political action must join or create a political
party." Party members went on to say that the vast majority
of Mauritania's civil society organizations are little more
than "institutions created to receive aid."

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CIVIL SOCIETY ASKS FOR USG ASSISTANCE
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5. (C) In a meeting with civil society representatives,
attendees expressed the strong need for political, technical,
and financial support from the USG. While the groups
appeared to be pleased with the transitional government's
engagement with civil society, they were adamant that
Mauritania lacked the resources and know-how to carry out a
successful transition. "The task of transition is not easy,
and there are no guarantees," international development NGO
representative Jamil Khan said. Attendees also noted the
transitional government's lack of "confidence and
capabilities" to effectively conduct the census and voter
registration.

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UN EXPERT SEES MANY CHALLANGES IN CENSUS
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6. (C) Delegates met with local UN Head of Mission Cecile
Molinier, UN Principal Technical Advisor Mathieu Bile, UN
Census Expert Clement Aganahi, UN Electoral Training Expert
Christine MacCallum, as well as National Democratic Institute
(NDI) representative Eric Duhaime. Molinier said "the
Mauritanian authorities have taken every step necessary to
leave power at the end of the transition process." She said
the EU and UN were currently developing a memorandum of
understanding with the Mauritanians for a basket fund to pay
for the election effort. "The fund would be controlled by
UNDP...and we expect that of the estimated 20 million USD
cost for elections we can raise between 8 - 12 million USD,
leaving the Mauritanians to pay the remainder," she said.


7. (C) Aganahi, who days earlier began assisting the
transitional government and electoral commission with
preparations for the census, said "we are currently training
census workers on how to properly conduct the census, but we

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have run into several problems, including antiquated
maps...and tight timelines." Aganahi said he did not
believed it would be possible for census workers to properly
account for all Mauritanians in one month through a
door-to-door approach, "many people will not be home, and
census workers will have to return multiple times to get an
accurate count," he said, adding that "the government has
added a 15 day registration period at the end of the process
to allow those who were not registered to go to regional
offices and be processed."


8. (C) According to Ministry of the Interior estimates, there
are currently 1,380,000 eligible Mauritanian voters with
National ID cards, and between 150,000 and 200,000 eligible
voters without them. As the government has required National
ID cards to register, they have opened 66 regional offices to
accelerate the issuance process. According to Molinier, "you
need only show your birth certificate to receive a National
ID card...but if you don't have a birth certificate, no one
seems to know how you can get one." (Embassy Note: This
issue is particularly important for the Afro-Mauritanian
community which constitutes a majority of those eligible
voters without National ID cards or in many case birth
certificates. End Note.)

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PRESS FREEDOMS ON THE RISE
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9. (C) In a meeting with members of Mauritania's public and
private press associations, attendees discussed increased
press freedoms following the coup, and the responsibilities
of an independent press. "The coup has opened the press and
the press has more freedom and impact than political
parties," CRED representative Abderrahmane Ould Horma said.


10. (C) Attendees discussed the newly-formed Press Reform
Commission which is currently investigating further press
liberalization, with a report due to the transitional
government March 31. The objectives of the commission are to
propose laws and best practices to allow for a credible,
self-regulated press. Attendees discussed a need for
training and a "professionalization" of the Mauritanian
press. Representatives said the U.S. press served as a role
model, and they thanked the U.S. press for not having
published the recent cartoons depicting the Prophet in a
negative manner.

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IMAMS: TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT HAS HONORED ITS COMMITTMENTS
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11. (C) During a meeting with some of the most prominent
religious figures in Mauritania, imams shared the view that
the Military Council and transitional government "had honored
their commitments" so far, and that they should be allowed to
finish their efforts toward democratization. This was
reinforced with subtle suggestions that diplomacy and
political cooperation between the USG and Mauritania provided
a better guarantee of success than the use of force. The
imams noted that since the coup, the Mauritanian people had
gained confidence in the Military Council and looked forward
to elections.


12. (C) In terms of recommendations on combating terrorism,
the imams said the USG can play a pivotal role in addressing
cultural misunderstandings by encouraging US-Mauritania
exchanges. Imam Hamden Tah seized on this point to note that
exchanges between religious groups such as the Oulema would
"build bridges of understanding" between Western and Muslim
communities. As a final note, the imams emphasized the
importance of education as a key to countering extremist
teachings.

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BUSINESS COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE
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13. (C) The delegation had a luncheon with representatives
from the Mauritanian business community representing the

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fishing, transportation, shipping and insurance sectors.
This provided delegates an opportunity to individually
discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by businessmen
in Mauritania.


14. (U) This cable was prepared after the departure of the
delegation. The delegation has not cleared the text.
LeBaron